Connect with us:

Tillerson Says State Department Funding is “Not Sustainable”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday defended President Trump’s proposed cuts to the State Department.

Tillerson said the cuts to the department are important to fix a “historically high” budget.

“Clearly the level of spending that the State Department has been undertaking, particularly in this past year, is simply not sustainable,” Tillerson Said while in Tokyo.

“As time goes by, there will be fewer military conflicts that the U.S. will be directly engaged in.”

Tillerson added that there would be a “comprehensive examination” of how the department has been run. He said he is ready to take on the challenge of cutting the department’s funding.

“I’m confident that with the input of the men and women of the State Department we are going to construct a way forward that allows us to be much more effective, much more efficient and be able to do a lot with fewer dollars,” he said.

In his first official budget blueprint, President Trump called for a 28 percent reduction to the State Department budget.